Quiet Loner - Secret Ruler Of The World

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 2 / 3 / 2004

---

Review

A bleak outlook on life can often lead to uplifting music, as we all know, and that is certainly the case with Manchester based group, Quiet Loner and their debut album, “Secret Ruler Of The World”. Songwriter Matt Hill tends to focus almost completely on lost love, and his band trade in a brand of mellow country rock, so it isn’t wise to expect anything especially revolutionary here, but this is a charming and frequently delightful record that most will find very easy to enjoy. Opener 'Henri' is one of the many highlights, with an instantly engaging melody and some great pedal steel but it is on the more mournful ballads where this album really shines. 'God Knows I’m Leaving' is a beautiful song, as are 'Won’t Stop Me Wishing' and 'Postcards To Broken Hearts'. The band tend to stick to using their pedal steel, acoustic guitars and banjos as the key instruments, but there are liberal dashes of a more expansive vision, with occasional appearances of pianos, violins and flutes, which thankfully remain mere augmentations rather than overstaying their welcome. These songs, deeply personal as they are, are best served by a sparse arrangement, and Quiet Loner avoid any temptation to try and mimic Lambchop’s fantastic “Nixon” album. Although an English band, their country style sounds natural. Quiet Loner adds a certain English-ness to country music, rather than simply mimicking the Americans and that is rather refreshing. Though Quiet Loner have compared themselves to Morrissey and Elvis Costello, the best reference point I can give is the solo music of Roddy Frame, who shares a similar songwriting and vocal style with Matt Hill. This is a lovely record, pure and honest, which makes no attempt to set the world alight and shines regardless.

Track Listing:-

1 Henri
2 Real Romantic Soul
3 Dusk Settles
4 Steal Away
5 God Knows I'm Leaving
6 Fraction Of Her Smile
7 Postcards To Broken Beats
8 Bitter
9 Won't Stop Me Wishing
10 Truth Or Consequence
11 Complex Messiah

Band Links:-

http://www.quietloner.com/
https://www.facebook.com/quietloner
https://twitter.com/quietloner
https://www.youtube.com/user/secretrul
http://quietloner.bandcamp.com/